


What If: Snart Let Mick Stay?

by GachMoBrea



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: 'It's a Trap!', ...End?, Alcohol, Bad guys, Brief Re-Telling, Canon Compliant Cliff Hanger, Chronos Attack!, Confrontation, Episode Related, Gen, Kidnapping, Mick Reveal, Mutant Bird People, S01E06, S01E09, SHORT 2nd Chapter, Star City 2046, s01e07, s01e08, time pirates - Freeform, what if
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-07-21 20:57:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7404274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GachMoBrea/pseuds/GachMoBrea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As it says on the Title, "What If Snart Let Mick Stay?"</p><p>What if the second half of the Criminal Duo was left in Star City 2046?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. (This Show is not mine. These Characters are not mine. This insanity-No wait, that's mine.)

"Take a look around, Snart. Livin' the dream."  
"This ain't my dream, Mick," Snart tries again, but he realizes it's pointless. His partner wants to stay and is going to do everything in his power to.  
"Well," Mick turns his fiery glare back at him. "Flyin' around with a bunch of losers isn't my kind of dream. This is feeling less and less like a job and more like you wanting to play hero."  
Snart sighs, defeated, "If you wanna stay? Fine. Stay." He walks closer to his partner to poke him in the chest. "But don't expect me to stick around and have your back. If and when this Time Line changes, you'll be on your own."  
"I've been on my own for a while now, Snart," Mick mounts the four-wheeler. "I just hadn't realized it until now."  
The second half of the criminal duo guns the engine and drives off just as Rip and Sara return with a case in the Time Master's hand.

"Where's he going?" Sara asks, nodding to the taillights of Mick's vehicle.  
"Mick's decided to stay here," Snart tells her, moving to his bike. He'll let the assassin ride on the back, but the time traveler will have to get his own ride.  
"Mr. Rory cannot be allowed to remain in Star City 2046," Rip frowns. "You have to go after your partner and-"  
"Shut it, Rip!" Snart barks, effectively stopping the other man. "You may be the pilot in this little time trip, but you're far from being our leader. You're certainly not mine."  
He guns the engine, bringing the bike to life, "If you want Mick, you go get him. My partner has made his choice perfectly clear to me."  
"Need a lift?" Snart offers Sara with a smirk. The assassin shrugs, taking the case from Rip and sliding onto the back with the criminal.  
"Wait, what about-?"   
Snart guns the engine again and takes off, leaving Rip gaping after them and finishing to himself, "Me."

 

Criminal and Assassin take a detour to a destroyed liquor store on their way back to the ship. The little side errand gives Rip enough time to scramble together his own way back and they all arrive at the same time.  
Together, they go to the bridge where Stein greets them.  
"Where's Mr. Rory?" Stein asks when he doesn't see the pyromaniac.  
"He's staying," Snart informs him carrying a bottle of his share of the liquid loot through the bridge to his room.  
"What?" the professor does a double take to the criminal's lack of worry for his partner. "Is that wise?"  
"Wisdom isn't something Mick has in abundance, Professor," Snart remarks, waiting at the door that lead to the crew quarters.  
"It appears Mr. Rory has grown, uh," Rip pauses, "attached, to this current Time Line."  
"Shouldn't we convince him otherwise?" Stein presses on. He turns a frustrated look to Snart, "Can't you convince him?"  
"The only way I could get Mick on this ship," Snart tells him slowly so that it sinks in, "Is if I bashed him over the head with something and dragged his sorry self here."  
"We'll have to let Mr. Rory's decision alone for the time being," Rip waves his hands as if to grab everyone's attention. "What about the engine?"  
"It's all good." Jax tells them, but he doesn't sound happy about it. He looks to Snart like he wants to tell him something and the criminal knows it's about his partner, so he leaves the bridge before the kid can.

Back in his room, Snart opens the bottle and takes a swig. He doesn't even bother with a glass.  
The plan was to take what they could while changing their own Time Lines in the process. It was supposed to be him and Mick against all of time.  
But then Snart couldn't stop his father from going to prison and there had only been the one chance at theft and that was way back when they first got together with this disastrous crew.  
Snart takes another swig before capping the bottle.  
Mick was right. He was trying to play the hero. He didn't even know why.  
'Yes you do,' a voice in the back of his head says. Snart decides it doesn't sound like Barry Allen in the slightest.

 

Sara has gone off to try to save the Hood. Stein's the one who rallies the troops and he's somehow managed to convince Rip to throw his lot in too.

Raymond and Kendra fly ahead and they all arrive in time to join in the battle that's already going on without them.  
As Snart shoots at a man to his left, he sees another being blasted away by a familiar flame.   
Mick?  
Snart shoots another guy to his left then rams his gun into a man at his right, before straightening to hit another further away.  
"Where's Mr. Queen?"  
There are two Hoods now, and one of them is fighting Deathstroke.   
"Connor!"  
Queen throws his bow to the other Hood fighting on the ground while Snart bashes another enemy in the face with his gun.  
Connor shoots a special arrow at Deathstroke and Queen finally gets the upper hand.   
Deathstroke's dead. What's left of the henchmen make a run for it. 

"Cowards! All!" Mick shouts at them as they run.   
His partner turns to him and smirks, "Are you sure you've picked the right team?"  
"So this isn't you changing your mind?" Snart raises an eyebrow.  
"Nah," his partner shakes his head. "I came here to get rid of two-face, but then you and your new crew showed up."  
"Rory," Jax steps up to the pyro. "Please tell me you ain't serious about staying here?"  
"Sorry, kid," Mick grins. "Time Travel really ain't my thing. You're welcome to stay too, if you want."  
Firestorm shakes his head, stepping away to join the others who are more focused on the double Green Arrows.  
Raymond casts a strange look over to the two criminals, but doesn't leave the cluster of friends as the older looking Hood monologues.  
"I guess this is where we part ways, eh, Snart?" Mick stares at his partner. "You sure about them?"  
"I'm sure about the mission," Snart replies, matching the other's stare. "You sure about this Time Line?"  
"I'm never sure about anything," Mick chuckles, moving passed his partner and down the decimated streets.  
Snart watches him go. 

 

"Alright Gideon," Rip bounces across the bridge as he address the AI. "let's see if these repairs that Martin, Ray, and Jax made are up to scratch."  
"As far as I can tell, Miss Saunders did most of the work while the two gentlemen competed for her-"  
"Just get us out of here, please, Gideon," Stein interrupts the machine.   
Romance aboard a Time Ship with only eight crew members?   
Seven, now, Snart corrects himself sitting in his chair.   
It's useless, but the criminal still finds himself hoping his partner will be able to handle himself. He also hopes the Hoods don't kill him right off the bat.  
Snart pulls down the harness and just waits.

"So, where to next, Captain?" Stein's anxious to leave.  
"Well the beauty of this mission is that the real question is not 'where' but 'when.'"  
This entire crew was going to start spouting time puns before they finish saving the world.  
"In which case, I suggest we next hit Savage when he least expects it."

 

\---


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SUPER Short Chapter.

Rip doesn't know anything. The man is only good at telling tall tales. Snart's more of a Captain than the Time Traveler is.  
The man has then 'floating' around in the Time Stream while he pouts in his study and watches futuristic family movies.  
It does give Snart the chance to discover Sara's gift at cards.  
Jax and Raymond have joined the silent club of forlorn looks. Snart didn't know they were so 'close' with his partner. Stein keeps the peace whenever they get antsy.

 

The boredom breaks when there's another Time Master needing assistance and the oaf is going to take then right into the obvious trap.  
Snart decides to go with Rip and the Firestorm duo as back-up. If, in the miracle of time and space, this isn't a trap, they might need him to snatch the device with the info so they can have a hope of finishing off Savage.

 

It is a trap.   
Time Pirates, because of course that's a thing, have taken over the Akeron and now Gideon has been damaged and this side of the team is locked in a cell with the female Time Traveler.  
"Told you so," Snart drawls, glaring over to their 'leader.'  
"Yes, well," the Time Man shrugs. "Points to you, Mr. Snart."  
"If only Mick were here," the criminal frowns. "The two of us might've been able to fight them off."  
"I doubt Mr. Rory's anger issues would have garnered much help," Rip scoffs.  
"What's your problem with my partner?" Snart looks at the other man closely. "You've had it out for Mick since the start of this crusade."  
"Well, since the man is no longer with us," the Time Man runs a hand through his hair as he sighs. "Mr. Rory wasn't exactly pre-designed to be on this trip."  
"What do you mean?" the criminal's frown deepens.  
"I mean that it was you, Mr. Snart, not Mr. Rory who I needed on this mission," Rip throws his hands in the air in exasperation. "I only brought him on board because the two of you were a packaged deal."  
Snart's gotten Mick into a few difficult situations, but this one takes the gold. By association, he's gotten his partner trapped in the wrong city at the wrong time.  
"You should have told me," he growls at the frustrated man before him.  
"Would you have come if you had known?"  
"Not sure, but I would have preferred the heads up," Snart smirks. "You know what, Rip? All you ever do is lie. You lied about us becoming Legends. You lied about knowing how to stop Savage or where the maniac even is. If it weren't for the broken-hearted, puppy dog looks you have in abundance, I'd think your wife and kid hadn't even been killed."  
"Don't you dare tarnish the name of my wife and son!" Rip demands, shoving a finger in the criminal's face. "You do not have the right to even think of them."  
"You do not have the right to use people for your own needs," the crook bites back. "Guards!" he shouts.  
A pirate approaches the cell, gun in hand as he looks at the captives, "What?"  
"I need to have a word with your boss," Snart turns his glare away from the Ex-Time Master and towards the Time Pirate.  
"Why should I let you see him?" the man frowns.  
"Because I can get him on the WaveRider," the criminal smirks.  
"Snart, don't!" Jax pleads but the older man doesn't even turn his head to acknowledge him. The pirate glances at the kid before nodding to the criminal. He lowers the force field and pulls Snart out of the room.

 

"Why do you wanna help us?" the pirate leader sounds tired, like he's waiting for a good excuse to kill everyone.  
"Because Rip Hunter is a moron and I've already lost my partner on his merry little adventure," Snart drawls. "I don't intend on becoming the man's next victim."  
"If you're going to trick your friends," the pirate boss smiles. "You'll need to be a little more convincing."  
Snart expected the beat down. It still hurts though.

 

Gideon guides the smaller Time Ship to the WaveRider. She informs them that the others will be waiting for them after they dock.  
"Nice and easy fellas," Snart calmly warns the pirates around him. "Wait until I give you the all clear."  
Raymond, Kendra, and Sara look at him surprised when he walks into the hallway that separates them.  
"You okay, Crook?" the assassin asks, eyes warily looking his injuries over.  
"Okay, boys," Snart calls over his shoulder. "The ship's all yours."  
The pirates flood into the hallway and point their weapons at the trio on the other end.  
"How could you?" Kendra frowns.  
"I guess once a crook, always a crook," Raymond accuses.  
"Don't blame me," Snart takes a step backwards. "for Rip's mistakes," another step, "I make my own."  
Three confused faces stare at him as he makes it to the back of the invading group.  
"This ain't one of them, though," the criminal fires at the pirates, hitting four in a row before the others realize they're being attacked.   
The hallway explodes in blasts from the pirates guns, Cold Gun rays, Raymond's suit beams, and a few swift blows from Sara's staff.  
The pirates go down fast and Snart looks pointedly at Raymond.  
"Have something to say?" the criminal drawls.  
"Turns out you're not so bad after all," the scientist blushes slightly.  
"I wouldn't say that, but," Snart smirks. "I don't betray my crew."

 

Rip manages to secure his side of things without their help. Throwing the enemy out into the depths of space? Snart didn't know the man had it in him.

 

"So, you almost died?" Snart drawls at Raymond after he speedily recounted their side of events.  
"I had to save the ship," the scientist explains. "Anyone would have done it."  
"I doubt that," the criminal comments. "But I'm glad you kept the tin can floating."

 

Their rescue garners a reward from the other Time Dope. The Akeron's captain gives them what they need to continue on their little 'adventure', so at least the ordeal had positive end result.  
Snart briefly wonders if he should snatch something from the other Time Ship while Rip says his goodbyes. He takes something off one of the pirates during transfer instead. Much easier and no one will make a fuss.

 

\---


	3. Chapter 3

They Time Jump.   
Snart's hearing is muffled, while the professor and kid complain about their symptoms and Rip babbles something as well.   
"Harmony Falls, Oregon."  
What a great place to find an immortal psychopath.  
Savage has apparently gone serial killer with a knife. Maybe in this Time Line, he lost more of his mind that he really can't spare.

Rip sends the budding love birds into the victim's available house.  
Stein and Sara are sent to the asylum of another victim, while Jax is to 'mingle' with the younger crowd to figure out three disappearances.  
And what does the man have planned for Snart and himself?  
He has them posing as Feds.   
Police stations were the place to go when you were caught, to steal evidence, or break someone else out.   
Striding into the place to cooperate with the local badge? Not on the list.   
But they need those case files if they want to track the psycho, so Snart goes with Rip.  
It's a good thing too. The Time Man's American accent is terrible and he doesn't have the strength in tone to convince the wary Sheriff to hand it over.  
Snart gets the man moving with the threat of a pencil.

"Nice work, partner."   
The man really was an idiot.  
"You're not my partner." Snart drops the pencil before he stabs the idiot with it. He turns to make keep an eye on the lawman. "There's only one person I ever trusted on this job and you didn't even want him in the first place."  
The quells the 'captain's' desire to be friendly. Which is good on many levels.

Their little trip is as useless as Raymond's references. There's nothing in the files that points to their enemy's whereabouts.   
As luck would have it, if you believed in that sort of childish thing, the man shows up at the love bird's house.

 

Everyone has their own tasks for the next mission.   
Everyone, except for Snart and Rip. They hang back on the WaveRider.   
But then Jax takes too long getting back and Snart gets that feeling he always does when a job goes sideways.  
He forces Rip to take him to the kid's last co-ordinance and they find a bleeding girlfriend. But no Jax.  
"Well it seems you had good reason to be concerned for Mr. Jackson's safety."   
"Yeah, sucks being right all the time."  
Great. Snart can't keep his crew together.  
What if he starts losing them one by one?

 

They bring the girl back so Gideon can work on making her better. There she tells them about "bird monsters" and "glowing meteorites". Because their mission wasn't hard enough already with a psychotic, murdering, time traveler.  
The mutagenic thing gives Stein something to work on instead of worrying about his younger half.

It's a day of surprises when Raymond reveals the 'magic dagger' that he apparently stole without getting caught or killed.  
Snart's mildly impresses, but he'd never tell the bright-eyed scientist.

The 'new plan' is to draw Savage out using the one thing he can't resist: Kendra.  
Raymond objects, new boyfriend feelings and noble desire to protect kicking in, but his objection are shot down. Birdie's doing it.

 

At the asylum: Rip is an orderly, Sara's still a nurse, and Raymond is a crazy patient. It was so fitting it made Snart smirk. Kendra goes to talk to Savage...While Stein and the criminal take the entrance through the basement.

"I think I may have an inkling for what you may be feeling, Mr. Snart," Stein comments after they've entered the lowest level of the mental hospital.  
"Is that so," Snart comments, not really caring.  
"Jefferson and I, as you know, share a psychic connection, but, for some inexplicable reason I can't seem to reach him." Stein sighs as they continue to walk through the dimly lit room. "I've grown so accustomed to our partnership. To suddenly be without him is disquieting."  
Not smelling something burnt in so many days was odd for Snart. He tries to ease the older man's mind, "I'm sure the kid is fine." 

They keep moving, slowly and carefully in case there are any traps or guards.  
Until an alarm buzzes. 

Some sort of animal is coming towards them. It sounds...Not quite growling, and occasionally clicking.  
"Just when you think you've seen everything."  
A monster. A real one, in a time line when they shouldn't exist, stands right in front of them plain as day.  
The missing kids are no longer missing. They've been turned into bird creatures that Snart has to fight off if they're going to make it out of there alive.  
One of the creature's attire looks familiar.  
"It's Jefferson." The professor says. He tries to reason with it. "Jefferson, it's us!"  
Snart has to push the professor out of the way for his own good but he never was one for a twitchy finger, so he tries to reason with the man-bird as well.  
"Jax! Don't make me do this." he warns his mutated teammate who ignores him as he continues to advance. "You can't seriously want to stay as a bird man?"  
Another screech from behind has Snart turning on instinct but when he looks back at Jax, the kid's slicing at his left arm and knocking him to the ground.  
Snart shoots a pipe. Steam or smoke blasts in the kid's face, giving the criminal cover to grab Stein and make a run for it.  
The professor shouts his complaints, but Snart knows better. They have to re-group and figure out a way to capture the monster teens without hurting them.

Snart leads the way towards the others. Before they lay eyes on any of their other teammates, Monster Jax slices at him again and he loses grip of his gun.  
He steps away from the kid-turned-creature with Stein. It 'cries' at them again, swipes at him but misses.  
Snart lifts up a hand, body jerking slightly as he tries to read where the thing will swipe at next. It cries again, then Sara hits it with her stick, knocking it out.  
Finally. They can go back to the ship and return things to normal.

 

It feels good to be back in his own clothes. Gideon patches up his arm while Stein works with the AI on the cure.  
When they're ready to start the "gene therapy" Stein decides to get a little sappy.  
"We never would have the slightest chance of saving him, were it not for you."  
"Let's not get sentimental. Another minute and things might've gone down very differently." Snart's hesitation when it comes to these crewmembers might get one of them killed some day. Or some time.   
Wow. Time puns.  
"Despite your bravado, Mr. Snart," Stein irritatingly continues. "The actions that I witnessed last night were nothing short of heroic."

Jax looks much better without the beak. The kid didn't have the jaw to pull it off well.

 

As the others say their goodbyes, Snart sits by the front window of the ship and thinks about Mick. Was he still alive? Had the Time Line changed? Had he been arrested?  
Was he burning the remains of Star City to the ground while laughing at the flames?

Jax stops by to offer his heart-felt thanks.

"And I'm sorry about giving you the silent treatment these last couple a days," the kid adds with a small smirk. Maybe he thought about using the term 'Cold Shoulder'.  
"I just couldn't understand how you could leave your partner behind without a fight," Jax shrugs. "And, in a way, I still don't. But," he sighs, hands moving outward as if he could reach what he wanted to say. "I realize that I didn't know Mick as well as you did. You and he were partners, and if you thought that leaving him was best? Then I gotta trust that was the right call."  
Snart rolls his eyes at the kid, "Stop, I'm getting misty eyed."   
"You had the chance to kill me and you didn't," Jax shrugs again. "That makes you trustworthy in my book." 

Stein arrives then, saving Snart from more 'touchy feely' conversations with the younger man.

Now if only Sara and the Love Birds could manage to get back to the ship, they could actually leave.

Something hits the WaveRider, shaking them all to cover.   
Chronos is shooting at them. The bounty hunter is back.  
Rip desperately tries to shout out orders that will stop their armor-clad enemy, but then Chronos is on the bridge with them and a fire fight begins.

"Get to the Jump Ship!"  
Snart follows after Stein and the kid, letting Rip handle the rear.

Snart's not convinced that leaving the man who wants them all dead in a room where he could possibly do a lot of damage is a good plan.  
It's Rip's plan. So it will probably fail.

Snart's proven correct, yet again, when the bounty hunter Time Jumps the ship.  
"The ladies will be left in 1958!"  
"What about Ray?"   
"Like I said." 

They make it back to the doors that lead to the bridge before Rip turns back to the hot-head duo and orders them to the Jump Ship to escape.  
Of course they refuse. At first. Then Rip 'orders' them and they go.  
Snart actually agrees with the Time Traveler's command. If Stein and Jax can't become firestorm, they run the risk of getting needlessly hurt.  
And right after they had that 'lovely bonding moment' earlier.

After an affirming nod, they charge into the room, guns firing at their enemy before they really catch sight of him.  
Rip and Snart take cover behind the seats as the bounty hunter's bullets fly overhead. The Time Man moves to the right to fire with his futuristic pistol while Snart goes left with the Cold Gun.  
"To the right, Snart, now!" the captain orders, already moving in the direction.   
When a shot nearly takes the man's head off, Snart pops up to fire at Chronos.  
The bounty hunter turns to him, firing as he walks right at the criminal.  
Snart tries again to hit him with his gun, but he just misses and takes a green-orb to the shoulder, knocking him back.  
"No, Mr. Snart!"  
It hurts, but it doesn't knock him down yet. Snart watches Rip get hit in the chest and fall. He tries to use the opening to get closer to his opponent for a better chance at actually hitting him, but it only serves to make the other guy's job easier.

Snart takes a blow to the head and is out cold in seconds.

 

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's boring because I couldn't think of anything to change it. They already didn't have Mick at this point...


	4. Chapter 4

The throbbing in Snart's head wakes him first. Remembering WHY his head was throbbing startles the criminal to complete consciousness.  
When he moves his arms, he realizes he's handcuffed with giant manacle things.  
Footsteps are clanging behind the criminal and he glances to see it's Chronos. He tries again to get out of his spot but neither the cuffs or the pipe railing have any give, so he resorts to pulling back defensively when the bounty hunter reaches him.  
Chronos passes him without a word.  
"Uh, hello?" Some criminals have no manners.  
"A UFO sighting in Hub City in 1960 has created an anomaly." The robotic voice of the bounty hunter tells him. Snart does his best to look for other captured 'Legends.'  
"It looks like your friends survived."  
So it is just him then.  
"And, uh, what would they be doing in 1960?" What did the man do to the ship? How long will it take for Jax and Raymond to fix it? Did they even make it back in time to get the others?  
And why wasn't Snart with them?

 

Snart was never a fan of the silent treatment. Especially not when he's been kidnapped by a bounty hunter who should only want him dead.  
The criminal isn't eager to get himself killed, but he also can't stand to sit idly by while there was still a murderer to kill.  
"So, uh," Snart takes a breath, looks around again for a way to get out of the cuffs. "What's so special about me?" He wonders where the other put his gun. "I mean aside from my sparkling personality." The ship appears to be a duplicate to Rip's larger vessel. "Back on the WaveRider you could've taken your boy Rip," This whole mission was started by that incompetent mass. "but you took me instead. Why?"  
The bounty hunter keeps quiet, his back turned towards the criminal.  
Didn't the man want to gloat about his plans at all?  
"Hey, if you're gonna kill me, you could at least tell me what's going on." Come on big, bad, and bulky. What's your beef?  
Chronos finally turns, if only to his side. "You should have figured it out by now."  
Figured what out? Did the guy have a crush on him or something?  
Chronos reaches up with both hands and removes his helmet.  
When Snart sees Mick's face the world stops.  
His shoulder slips, 'What the-?'  
"After all," Chronos-no-Mick, Mick walks closer, kneels in front of Snart. "I am supposed to be the dumb one."

 

"Why?"  
"Why do you think?!" Some of Mick's anger bleeds into his calm, Chronos persona. "The Time Line adjusted! I was going to be ripped out of existence!"  
"I never wanted you to stay there, Mick!" Snart bites back. "I told you to come with me! I said that staying would be a mistake!"  
"You should have forced my hand," Mick growls, voice calming again.  
"How?" Snart grins like a shark. "Should I have beat you over the head with my Cold Gun and dragged you to the ship? Hmm?"  
Mick scowls, rising to his feet.  
"Thought so," Snart glares up at his old partner. "You would have been furious, Mick. You would have steamed in anger for days and then where would we be?"  
"I don't know," his partner turns his attention to the front window. "But it would have been better than ending up here."  
"I highly doubt that," Snart remarks, earning the attention of his partner again. "Think about it, Mick. Chronos already attacked us before. You are Chronos. So, no matter what we did, the Time Masters were going to turn you into the bounty hunter you are now."  
Realization dawns on Mick's face. He turns away from Snart to lean against the panel. 

 

"Is this the part where you kill me, Mick?" Snart drawls.  
"I'm not gonna kill you," Mick keeps his back to his ex-partner. "I was going to take a trip back to Central City to kill Lisa."  
Snart pulls on the cuffs again, protest on the tip of his tongue, but Mick continues, "But now I think I'll go back to that roof top and stop us from ever going with the Englishman."  
"You can't," Snart reminds him, body slumping against the wall in relief that his sister is no longer in danger. "Time Paradoxes and all that crap."  
"I don't care," Mick starts pushing on the control panel, probably setting a course to do exactly as he said he would.  
"What about Savage?" Snart scowls. "What about the man who threatens our city? We can't let that madman-"  
"Savage, Savage, Savage!" the bounty hunter cuts the criminal off angrily, turning to face him once more. "I'm sick and tired of time losers yanking me around for the sake of a maniac. I don't care about Vandal Savage. I don't care about the future. All I care about is getting my life back to normal."  
"Life was never normal, Mick," Snart says solemnly. "No matter what we want, the world will screw guys like us over. We might as well try our hand at saving it for the sake of others."  
"Others," Mick says the word like a gravely insult. "You're still worried about those phony Legends back on the WaveRider."  
"Most of them are manageable," Snart admits. "You worked with them. You and Raymond even had an adventure with a couple of Russians."  
"They don't deserve your loyalty, Snart," the bounty hunter's expression blanks. "They don't deserve to live either."  
"What?" the criminal blinks at his ex-partner. "You're still going to kill them? Why?"  
"Because I can," Mick pushes on the screen a few times before walking towards Snart. "Because it's my job as Chronos."  
Mick goes to the back of the small Time Ship so they can jump to wherever the team is now. Snart shouts out in protest, but his words fall on deaf ears.

 

They arrive at Sara's assassin school. Snart's used-to-be partner is still not listening.  
"Come on, Mick!" the criminal growls as the bounty hunter prepares to leave. "You don't owe any favors to the Time Masters! They manipulated you to this point, but you can still go against them."  
"They saved me," Mick calmly replies, returning to the bridge with his helmet in hand, gun hanging loosely over his shoulder by the strap.  
"Just out of curiosity, what do you think your new 'saviors' are gonna do with you once you deliver the team up to them?"  
Think about it, Mick. Snap out of it!  
"There's no pension plan for old bounty hunters; with no one to hunt," he glares at the other man. "Once they get what they want from you, they're gonna toss you aside."  
"If I kill the others," his partner reasons. "they'll bring us back home."  
"They MIGHT bring us back," Snart counters. "You can't trust them. Think about how often Rip has lied to us!"  
Mick frowns. Snart thinks for an entire second that he's getting to his partner.  
Right before the man shakes his head.  
"No," he grunts. "You're wrong."  
His partner always was too thick headed to think clearly.  
"Would you at least mind loosening these up a little but before you leave?"  
With a smirk, Mick puts his helmet back on.  
"See you soon, Snart."

 

It takes a little doing, but Snart makes it to the other side of the railing and gets his hands on his Cold Gun.  
Pulse pounding in his ears for fear of what might be happening with the others, he makes a rash decision.  
Snart freezes his own hand and shatters it to pieces on against the ground.

It hurt. Beyond excruciating. In fact, as Snart breathed through the pain and forced himself not to completely black out, he tried to think of the right word to describe it.  
Needless to say, he couldn't come up with anything.

 

With a growl of determination, Snart gets his shoe back on, holsters his gun with his left hand, and runs out of the ship.  
Chronos had made a path for him to follow. He can hear the fight as he runs down the torch lit halls.  
He turns into the room just as Firestorm's about to hit Chronos with his flames.  
"Don't do it!" Snart shouts as he clutches his stub tightly. Thankfully, the kid listened. "Don't kill him."  
"Snart?" The young hero looks relieved to see him, but equally confused.  
The other's faces have similar expressions.  
Except for Rip.  
"Sorry, don't kill Chronos?"  
Rip is angry.  
"He's not Chronos." They can't kill Mick without knowing it's him.  
His partner deserves to meet his end as himself. Not who the Time Manipulators convinced him to be.  
"Show him." Snart orders Mick, but his ex-partner doesn't move.  
Snart looks to Firestorm. The kid grabs a hold of the helmet and pulls it off.  
The whole team stares in disbelief.  
Mick crawls to his weapon in a last ditch effort to fight back, but Sara kicks him in the head, knocking him out.

 

"How is this possible?" Sara demands, glare pointed to Rip for an explanation.  
"How is Mick, Chronos?" Kendra asks.  
"I thought he stayed in 2046," Raymond muses uselessly.  
"Not really the time or place for this," Snart grounds out. His arm aches as he tries to grip it tighter.  
"We have to get him back to the ship before he wakes up and tries to kill us again," the scientist agrees. "I'll carry him."  
"I'll help," Jax offers, un-bonding from the professor so he doesn't' harm their old teammate.  
Snart turns, rolling against the wall and out the door. The world is spinning and he closes his eyes.  
"Snart?" Kendra appears before him, large eyes searching his for what to do. She looks at Snart's stump. "What the-"  
"Later," Snart growls, pushing off the wall as the kid and scientist round the doorway with his partner. "Make sure your boyfriend and the kid get Mick back to the WaveRider."  
Then he leaves the woman's worried face in favor of going to his room for a drink.  
Alcohol: used as a painkiller since its creation.

 

When the team gathers in the brig to confront their ex-teammate, Snart hides his frozen stump in his jacket.  
Then his partner starts threatening everyone.  
"You think this is all over. I will kill every single one of you. I will watch you all burn!" That's a phrase Snart's all too familiar with.  
"You!" Mick turns to Snart. "You've thrown your lot in with them. So you'll share in their fate!"  
Rip activates something inside the brig, which makes a light turn red and causes Mick to calm down.  
"Anyone care to explain how this is possible?" Jax starts the questions off.  
"Yes, it's quite remarkable Mr. Rory is working for the Time Masters, considering, Mr. Snart left him in another Time Line," Stein comments.  
"Mick says he was going to be ripped out of existence," Snart tells them with a frown.  
"Yes, well," Rip sighs. "The leaders of the Time Masters are very good at recruitment."  
"So," Jax draws the word out slightly. "Rory wasn't in danger of not existing?"  
"Hard to know," the Time Dope shrugs. "What I do know is that we now have an opportunity."  
"Opportunity?" Raymond speaks up. "To do what?"  
Rip poses against the glass-like cell, "To reform Mr. Rory."  
"He killed Aldus." Kendra reminds them angrily.  
"Under the influence of the Time Masters," Snart reminds her. "Who knows what kind of redecorating they did in that skull of his."  
"Chronos killed Aldus," Stein adds. "Mr. Rory was fighting on our side that day."  
"I know what it's like to be trained by an organization for one purpose. To kill. The kind of loyalty that can inspire." Sara's past experience might prove to be invaluable for their 'Let's save Mick' plan. "I need to know we can reach Rory. For my own sake."  
"Time Masters took one of our own and turned him against us," Stein's speaks up again. "I say, we undo their handiwork."  
"Rory saved my life, back in the Gulag. He's more than just a criminal and an arsonist." Raymond's friendship will prove to be utterly useless for their 'Let's save Mick' plan, but Snart's doesn't comment.  
"He's a member of our team," Jax nods. "I think it's about time he remembers that."  
"Mick's a lot of things," Snart drawls with a smirk. "But a lost cause ain't one of them."  
"I believe you're right, Mr. Snart," Rip is all confidence as he turns back to the others and lowers his voice to dramatically add, "You will see that miracles abound on this old Time Ship." 

 

"Now then, Mr. Snart," Rip points to the criminal as they all file out of the room. "I think there's something in MedBay that might interest you."  
"If it's drugs I'm not interested," Snart instantly turns down the offer.  
"Trust me," the Time Man grins. "You'll want Gideon to take a look at that arm."  
Trust Rip? No. Trust the AI to do something for his arm? Sure.  
Snart follows the other man to MedBay. His arm still aches even with the liquid painkillers flowing through his veins. Maybe the 'captain' will have the AI operate on it to have it properly sealed or something. Or perhaps offer him a robotic replacement.  
Rip seats him in the chair and puts the little medical bracelet on his other wrist. The man practically dances around the room as he starts pushing buttons and pulls out a white table that he has Snart put his stub on and the attached pencil looking thing lights up blue.  
"Gideon. Start the regeneration process."  
Snart jerks his head to the man, "What do you mean 'regeneration'?"  
"Huh? Oh! I took genetic samples from each of you at the start of our voyage for this exact eventuality."  
Of course the man thought the team would sacrifice life and limb for the mission.  
Also, "Why am I only hearing about this now?"  
"Because none of you had lost a limb yet."  
Fair point.  
The machine buzzes and whines as it comes to life. Something pinches harshly where Snart's stub was and he can't help the, "Ow," that comes out of his mouth.  
Pain takes a back chair as Snart watches bones grow right before his eyes. They're followed by veins, tendons, and all those things they taught him in health class on the rare days he actually paid any attention.  
It's as interesting as it is disgusting to watch.

A hand materializes as if by magic and the blue lasers stop roving over Snart. He wiggles his fingers, because he can't quite feel his hand yet.  
Rip laughs and Snart has the sudden urge to hit him.  
Just to make sure the hand was real, of course.

 

"I'll meet you on the bridge." Rip tells him, bouncing out of the room like a child who's been praised by their parents.  
Snart runs one hand over the other, feeling his own touch as he moves his re-grown appendage.  
"Thanks, Gideon." He says, because he doesn't think the Time Dope deserves it.  
"You are welcome, Mr. Snart." The AI pipes up cheerfully.

The new hand surprisingly strengthens Snart's hope for his partner.  
If a bucket of bolts can re-grow a limb, why can't he snap his partner out of a little brainwashing? 

He'll get Mick to be Mick again.  
It's only a matter of time.

 

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't re-read this, so it might be a little off....  
> (Also, it's not as dramatic as it could have been...Sorry!)


End file.
